Over the Circle

As the polar ice cap continues to melt at record levels during the summer months, the question of how potential fishing areas in the central Arctic Ocean (CAO) has been growing in urgency in recent years. Thus, many observers welcomed the news this week that an international agreement to regulate and restrict fishing in the… Continue reading Dealing with the Doughnut Hole: A Fishing Agreement for the Central Arctic →

After a month of coalition negotiations following Iceland’s 28 October parliamentary election between two veterans of many previous governments, the centre-right Independence Party (Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn), or IP, and the Progressive Party (Framsóknarflokkurinn), and the Left-Green Movement (Vinstrihreyfingin – grænt framboð) or VG, a deal was struck this week. Katrín Jakobsdóttir [In Icelandic], leader of the Left-Greens, became… Continue reading Iceland’s New Government: Meet Me In the Middle →

Much of current discussion surrounding energy sources in the Arctic has almost exclusively focussed on the possibility of extracting traditional fossil fuels from the lands and seas of the region. One of the catalysts for this debate is the now-notorious 2008 report [pdf] by the United States Geological Survey (USGS), explaining that the Arctic Ocean… Continue reading ‘But There Must Be Some Fire’: Combustible Ice and Arctic Effects →

The citizens of Nunavut (ᓄᓇᕗᑦ) went to the polls on 30 October to elect a new government and a leader to succeed outgoing Premier Peter Taptuna. None of the candidates ran on behalf of political parties, instead campaigning as de facto independents. In one district, Kugluktuk in Nunavut’s far west, there was a win by… Continue reading After the Vote in Nunavut: Thinking Big →